Senior Leaders Say Special Ops Community Aligned With Joint DOD Mission

View Online Senior Leaders Say Special Ops Community Aligned With Joint DOD Mission April 9, 2025 | By Matthew Olay During a posture hearing on Capitol Hill yesterday, the two most senior leaders from the U.S. military's special warfare community explained how the special operations force's mission aligns with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's overall priorities for the joint force.   Colby Jenkins, performing the duties of the assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict, and Army Gen. Bryan P. Fenton, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, explained the community's priorities while testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee.  Jenkins told the committee that special operations remain at the forefront of the nation's strategic priorities. Tasked with the most challenging and dangerous missions, SOF is the world's most lethal, adaptable and capable force.   "Our priorities for the SOF enterprise are squarely nested with Secretary Hegseth's priorities for the joint force: defend the homeland, strengthen deterrence and increase burden sharing with U.S allies and partners," he added.  In his Jan. 25, 2025, message to the force, Hegseth listed reestablishing deterrence by defending the homeland and working with allies and partners to deter aggression as one of his three primary pillars for DOD to focus on going forward. The other two are restoring the warrior ethos and rebuilding the military.   "Our elite warriors deter adversaries by creating strategic asymmetric advantages and maintaining irregular warfare superiority, leveraging our close relationships with our foreign partners in critical regions," Jenkins said.  He explained that irregular warfare includes potent, non-kinetic strikes — such as information operations — that must be timed precisely.   "The coordination of information operations actually resides within SO/LIC ... So, we have the unique opportunity to coordinate across the combatant commands; not only within DOD but also with sister agencies …   is not just a SOF opportunity, it's a whole of Department of Defense opportunity" he added.  After Jenkins described SOF's aforementioned attributes, Fenton then discussed Socom's role in crisis response, including conducting anti-terrorism operations.  "Socom's crisis response mission is the nation's most lethal and surgical tool to eliminate threats to the homeland, rescue American citizens protect diplomats, all at a moment's notice," Fenton said.   He explained that, in just the past three years, the frequency of presidentially directed crisis response missions has increased by 200%.  "Yet, for this sacred obligation, we will accept no risk in today's crisis response mission," he said.  Noting the Socom team makes up just 3% of the department's forces and less than 2% of the defense budget, Fenton pointed out that Socom forces in recent months have eliminated over 500 terrorists with the intent and capability to strike the homeland, as well as capturing an additional 600 with the aid of global SOF partners.  "Socom remains the world's premier special operations force. I pledge to always provide the nation with the best capability for the fiscal and personnel resources we receive. We will never compromise on standards and lethality," Fenton told the committee.  Jenkins added that the nation's security depends on a strong, agile, modernized and accountable SOF enterprise.   "With your support, we'll continue ensuring SOF is ready to deter, fight and win anytime, anywhere," he added.

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